


Stumble, Stand

by Liron_aria



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Clowns, Developing Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Stanford Era (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liron_aria/pseuds/Liron_aria
Summary: "Where the fuck did that clown come from?!"Sam's building himself a new life at Stanford, but it's not always smooth sailing.
Relationships: Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Stumble, Stand

**Author's Note:**

> A quick, angst-flavoured snapshot of Sam's time at Stanford, with some SamJess garnishing.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, because if I did, SamJess would be the main Ship of the Show, as opposed to whatever happened last night.

Sam wasn’t entirely sure why he was here, the party was more Brady’s - even Jess’ - style. Too many bodies and the smell of cheap beer everywhere. The fact that he was taller than most people around didn’t help, though he was lucky Jess was taller than most girls, so her blonde ponytail was fairly easy to spot.

Right now she was across the room talking animatedly to a redhead - Coretta? Yeah, that was Coretta, a grad student in her research group. The loud bass went right through him, building up a headache at the back of his head.

God, he wanted out. Why had he agreed to this?

_“Sam!"_ a brash voice called out, “ _Sammy, my man!”_

Sam winced slightly. Right. Brady.

"It’s Sam, Brady,” Sam called out over the music.

Brady pushed through the crowd, waving drunkenly, “Yeah, yeah, man, you check this crowd?”

Sam shook his head, suppressing a shudder. “I think I’m gonna head out, Brady.”

“What?!” Brady looked personally affronted. “You just go here!”

“I’ve been here for -”

“What you need,” Brady cut in, grabbing Sam’s arm and dragging him forward, “Is a cocktail! Jenny’s a master at them!”

“It’s _Jade_ ,” Sam replied tiredly. Jade was in the Intro to American Government class he TA’ed, in his Monday morning review section. He didn’t know if he’d ever seen her without a hangover.

"Brady, I really don’t - _JESUS FUCK!”_

Sam’s shouted verged on a shriek as he shoved hard at a body that just bumped into him.

"What the -”

_“Where the fuck did that clown come from?!”_

The boy wearing a clown costume with a giant fake clown head stumbled back, braced by yet more bodies. “What the Hell, man?!”

Sam slapped away his arm as the clown reached towards him. “ _Don’t touch me!”_

The clown shoved at Sam’s chest in response, knocking him back a few steps. “Fuck you, shithead!”

Sam muscles tensed, taking his opponent’s gait and weak points, ready to attack back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa -” Brady appeared between the two of them, arms outstretch. “Let’s all chill out! Jeez, Sam, it was just a joke!”

“A joke?” Sam snarled, trying to reign back his anger.

The other boy pulled off the giant clown head, revealing dark skin and dark hair and a scowl. “Fuck, Brady, you didn’t tell me he’d go all psycho on me.”

Brady laughed, something sharp and grating, throwing an arm around Sam’s shoulders, spilling some of his own cocktail on Sam’s shirt. “That’s Sammy for ya.”

Sam shoved his best friend - though he was having serious reservations about that title now - off him disgustedly. “You dick.”

“What?” Brady slurred drunkenly, a loose, mocking smile on his face. “Did a clown touch in a _naughty_ place when you were a kid?”

Brady fell to the ground courtesy of a hard punch to the jaw - but it wasn’t because of Sam. Jess appeared at Sam’s side, bristling with fury. “You son of a bitch!”

"Ooh, girlfriend to the rescue, Sam?”

Sam shook his head. “I’m outta here.”

He turned and shoved his way to the door, Jess following in his wake. The night air was cool and crisp, exactly what he needed.

“Sam,” Jess said behind him, “Sam, wait up!”

“What?” Sam replied testily, turning around. At Jess’ raised eyebrows, he sighed. “Sorry. I just…”

“Don’t deal well with clowns?” Jess finished wryly.

Sam shoved his hands into his pockets. “Uh. Yeah.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“I’m fine.”

Jess’ expression softened. “Sam… What Brady said… Did -“

“I said I’m fine, Jess!” Sam snapped.

Jess fell silent, her lips pursed. She huffed. “Yeah, there’s a surprise.”

Sam’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Look, Sam, I don’t need your entire life story, but you gotta let me in, at least a little,” Jess explained. “You’re upset - talk to me.”

“There is nothing to talk about! Leave it alone!”

Jess’ expression cooled. “You know what? Whatever.”

“Oh, come on, Jess…”

Jess’ eyebrow rose, and she looked at Sam expectantly. Sam tried to find the words to fix this, but then groaned, shoulders slumping. “Look, just… let me walk you back to your dorm.”

“It’s a long walk,” Jess replied, voice clipped, “I’ll call campus security to drive me back.”

“Jess - I - I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Jess made a non-committal noise and left, so Sam turned away and walked towards to his dorm, looking up at the stars to stay out of his dark thoughts with adrenaline still buzzing under his skin.

Fucking _clowns_.

(Jess texts him the next morning asking him to pick up extra large french breadsticks from the dining hall, and kisses away his apology before class. All couples argue, it's _normal,_ and they'll figure out what the Hell is going on with Brady before he goes even further off the rails.)

(Sam interlinks their fingers and puts his past behind him as they walk across Stanford's sunny campus.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?
> 
> Come flail over SamJess feelings with me here: https://queen-of-carven-stone.tumblr.com/tagged/oh-take-me-back-to-the-start
> 
> and here: https://missedyouloveyou.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
